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Boxer Antwun Echols' Cause of Death Was Complications from Diabetes, Not a COVID-19 Vaccine

Echols' daughter, Antwunette, told Snopes that she had no recollection of her father ever even receiving a COVID-19 vaccination.

Published Jul 19, 2023

Antwun Echols appears for the World Boxing Association super middleweight title fight in Sydney on Sept. 3, 2003. (GREG WOOD/AFP via Getty Images) (GREG WOOD/AFP via Getty Images)
Antwun Echols appears for the World Boxing Association super middleweight title fight in Sydney on Sept. 3, 2003. (GREG WOOD/AFP via Getty Images)

On July 19, 2023, the dubious @DiedSuddenly_ Twitter account appeared to imply in a tweet that 51-year-old boxer Antwun Echols had died from the effects of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine:

The two words in the account's name, "died suddenly," references a false rumor that claims such vaccines increase the risk of death.

The tweet from @DiedSuddenly_ read, "Died from an 'unexpected illness,'" and showed a link and screenshot for an article from the British tabloid The Mirror:

However, the truth of the matter was that Echols had died on July 2 due to complications from diabetes, according to our interview with his daughter, Antwunette Echols, as well as reporting from The Associated Press:

Antwun Echols, a boxer who twice lost to Bernard Hopkins in title fights, has died in Iowa. He was 51.

Echols, known as "Kid Dynamite" because of his powerful punch, died Sunday in Davenport of complications from diabetes, according to his daughter, Antwunette Echols.

On Messenger, Antwunette told Snopes that the rumor was "false" and said that her father "did not pass away due to a COVID vaccine."

She then indicated she had no recollection of Echols ever even receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. "In fact, I don't believe he ever had taken one," she said. "He passed away due to complications of Diabetes 1. The family would like for these false allegations to be stopped and taken down."

Note: Readers can help to report this misleading tweet by tapping on the three dots next to the tweet and making the following selections: "Report Tweet," "Start report," "Everyone on Twitter," scroll down to select "Shown misleading info," then "Health," "Yes, continue," "Submit," and "Done."

In the past, the @DiedSuddenly_ account had become known for seizing on the deaths of many people at a time when their families and friends were still grieving their loss.

For example, in a previous tweet from July 14, @DiedSuddenly_ appeared to imply that a 31-year-old mother named Callie Driskill had died from a COVID-19 vaccine that she received in 2021. However, the truth was that she died from injuries following an ATV accident, as confirmed in our reporting that cited two friends as well as her husband, Neil, who told us, "Thank you for letting people know the truth."

In another example from January, @DiedSuddenly_ made false claims about a young woman named Claire Bridges supposedly having experienced medical complications because of a COVID-19 vaccine. As we reported following our interview with Bridges, this was not true.

At the time that we reported about Bridges' story, she told Snopes that these sorts of misleading accounts "completely ignored the fact that I am a human" and "incorrectly and harmfully [told] my story."

Sources

"Boxer Antwun Echols, Known as 'Kid Dynamite,' Dies in Iowa at Age 51." The Associated Press, 5 July 2023, https://apnews.com/article/boxer-antwun-echols-dies-iowa-4a505bb9ced27766f6d514a450c35e57.

Liles, Jordan. "COVID Survivor Claire Bridges Sets Record Straight on Misleading Tweet About Her." Snopes, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/01/24/claire-bridges-covid/.

---. "Wisconsin Mother Callie Driskill Died from ATV Accident, Not a COVID Vaccine." Snopes, 17 July 2023, https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/07/17/callie-driskill-covid-vaccine/.

Mbu, Joshua. "Antwun Echols Dies Aged 52 as Tributes Pour in for Former Title Contender." Mirror, 4 July 2023, https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/boxer-antwun-echols-dead-52-30389865.

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.

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